Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

“Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is the most significant advancement in cardiology since coronary angioplasty.”

That’s what Lexington Medical Center cardiologist Dr. Robert Leonardi says about “TAVR,” a minimally invasive procedure that allows doctors to replace the heart’s aortic valve without open heart surgery.

In this video from WLTX, he explains TAVR.

Dr. Leonardi is one of the most experienced TAVR cardiologists in the Southeast and one of only a few fellowship-trained in transcatheter (non-surgical) valve procedures. A Greenville native, Dr. Leonardi earned his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He then completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University in Durham, N.C. and achieved board certification in this specialty. Dr. Leonardi finished his education with a cardiology fellowship at MUSC and fellowships in interventional cardiology and structural interventional cardiology at Emory University in Atlanta. He is also board certified in interventional cardiology and cardiovascular medicine.

By letting go of artificial boundaries between heart surgeons and interventional cardiologists, Lexington Medical Center is pleased to be using a collaborative, team-based approach to help patients with heart valve disease in our community. The team is made up of physicians from Lexington Cardiology and Lexington Cardiovascular Surgery. The hospital is proud to have performed the first fully percutaneous (no surgical incision) and first “awake” (without general anesthesia) TAVR procedures in South Carolina.

Dr. Leonardi is one of the 11 board-certified cardiologists at Lexington Cardiology, a Lexington Medical Center physician practice, dedicated to delivering the highest quality care in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

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This blog is intended for general understanding and education about Lexington Medical Center. Nothing on the blog should be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Blog visitors with personal health or medical questions should consult their health care provider.